


Ready or Not (I Guess We'll See)

by coldnerdytrash



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Peter Parker Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, this was really therapeutic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 08:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18891382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldnerdytrash/pseuds/coldnerdytrash
Summary: Every time he closed his eyes, he saw him.  Not like the last time, when he was covered in ash and on the verge of death.  He saw him smiling when they had hugged on the battlefield, amidst all of the death and bloodshed.Every time he fell asleep, he heard him.  His mentor gave him advice from the afterlife, constantly praising and supporting him.  But it wasn't the same, because every time Peter opened his eyes, he woke up.





	Ready or Not (I Guess We'll See)

"Hey, kid."

"Peter didn't want to open his eyes. He was dreaming, that's why he could hear Tony's voice. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but in every dream, once Peter opened his eyes to see Tony, he woke up. So he kept his eyes closed so that he could at least hear him.

"This isn't a dream, Pete," Tony chuckled. "Not this time. You can open your eyes. I promise I won't disappear."

Peter laughed wetly, but he kept his eyes shut tight. "It's not the first time you've said that you know, Mr. Stark."

"Okay, I guess that's fair." Tony paused and Peter felt an urge to peek open an eye to make sure he was still there. "We can just talk like this, then," Tony finally said after a moment, lessening Peter's urge to look.

"Okay," Peter repeated. He never wanted to say too much, and instead let Tony fill the silence. "How's Heaven?" he prompted with a laugh.

"Oh, it's... pretty quiet, actually." Peter could hear Tony grunt as he sat down. "No angels singing or playing the harp. Not even a distant intercom playing the Top 100 Hits." Tony chuckled again. "I don't even have an annoying little spider talking my ear off anymore. Now, whenever I see him he makes me do all the talking."

Peter bit his lip, trying not to smile. "What about Natasha? She's there, too, right?"

"Well, of course. But do you seriously think I'm up for getting my dead ass beat for calling her annoying?" Tony quipped. Peter felt a thump against the side of his thigh, as if Tony had hit his leg with the joke. That had never happened before. "Now tell me how my baby girl's doing."

Peter couldn't help his grin. "She's just like you, Mr. Stark."

"Good ways or bad ways?"

"Both." Tony groaned and Peter just laughed softly. "She's really smart, always using big words that I don't even know. Ever time I go over, she begs me to take her in the garage; Pepper doesn't let her go by herself and she... she still can't bring herself to go in there." Tony hummed. "But Morgan's got doe-eyes, perfect for begging. Pepper says she got it from you."

"Obviously," Tony laughed. "If I had to go, the least I could do was leave her with her best weapon."

There was a beat of silence and Peter really didn't want to wake up.

"We miss you," he blurted. "All of us."

Tony huffed in the way that was always accompanied by a smile. "I miss all of you guys, too." He nudged Peter's leg again. "Especially you."

Peter nodded and wiped at his eyes, which he was only a little surprised to find tears falling from.

"Hey, kid," Tony prompted. "Why don't you open your eyes and take a look around before you have to go?"

Peter immediately shook his head. "Nope. I'm not ready to wake up-"

"I told you this isn't a dream," Tony interrupted. They were quiet for a moment. "Open your eyes," he said softly. "I promise I'm not going anywhere until you're ready."

Peter was hesitant, reasonably so, but when he opened his eyes, he couldn't have been more glad for what, or rather _who_ , he saw.

Tony was leaning over his face, his dark brown curls illuminated by the white light behind him. Peter had never seen his mentor like this: Tony was young, his eyes wide and bright, not a gray hair or wrinkle anywhere in sight. He looked genuinely happy, and Peter couldn't help but grin.

"You won't be here much longer," Tony told him.

Peter sat up slowly, looking around in elated confusion. Everything was the same - blank, white void. There was no one other than him and Tony, and there was no music. The silence was eery. "Where...?"

"It doesn't have an official name," Tony answered. “I came here a lot before the Snap. Once or twice in college after a few too many drinks and pills, almost every time I closed my eyes in Afghanistan, and definitely every time I managed to sleep for a second with the palladium."

Peter thought for a second before rounding on Tony and blurting out, "Limbo?!" His excitement at seeing his mentor had been replaced with fear. "Does that mean I'm-"

"No," Tony quickly reassured, shaking his head. "You're still down there, dangling from a web, just waiting for, well, this you." Tony shrugged. "You get to go back," he said with a small smile.

Peter was silent for a moment, staring agape at Tony. The last thing he remembered before hearing Tony's voice was going out on patrol. He had donned his suit, kissed Aunt May goodbye, then webbed himself out of his bedroom window, slipping on his mask as he flew through the air. Then there was black, then Tony.

"What happened?" he asked, throat dry and voice shaky.

Tony shook his head. "I don't know; I didn't get to see. And I'm honestly glad I didn't." He sighed. "You can stay here as long as you'd like, Pete, but I don't think that'll ease your aunt's nerves any."

"May?" Peter said breathlessly. "How does she-?" Tony pointed a few feet away to where a small section of void floor was glowing. Peter stood and walked over to it. "Oh my God..."

"That's what got me back the first few times," Tony said from over Peter's shoulder. "I didn't have anyone I loved here, not yet, but that thing showed me Rhodey, and Jarvis, and my mom."

With each different name Tony said, the image below them shifted, showing a different person staring horror-struck at the news on TV - 'Spider-Man Unresponsive in Queens.' First it was Aunt May, tears streaming down her face. Then it was Ned and MJ, both equally terrified as they stared at the screen. Then it was Pepper and Morgan. The little girl had walked up to the TV, confusion on her face. She turned away and said something inaudible to Pepper.

All of a sudden, Peter could barely breathe. He felt an intense pressure on his chest, so painful that it knocked him off-balance and backward into Tony's arms.

"Whoa, Pete," Tony grumbled under his weight. "What's going on?"

Peter palmed his chest, right over his sternum, gasping for breath. "I don't... I don't know."

"Tony lowered Peter to the floor. "Does it hurt?" he asked, and Peter nodded. "Bone crushingly or just like you fell a few feet onto your chest?"

"Both," Peter said, and then the weight lifted. "It's gone." He looked at Tony, his brow furrowed in confusion. He sat up slowly, still breathing hard. "What's happening?"

"They're trying to bring you back," Tony said, a small smile on his lips. "Those were compressions. It hurt like hell, right?" Peter nodded. "Well then, I suggest you wake up before they try taking you to a hospital. Defibrillators hurt even worse, and a hospital wouldn't be very good for your secret identity."

"But, Mr. Stark," Peter argued, shaking his head once. "I'm not ready to go."

"I know, kid. But you're not ready to join me, either. You have too much left to do," Tony told him. He still had a smile on his face, but it had turned sad.

"Mr. Stark," Peter tried again, but Tony shook his head.

"Go back, Peter," he said, voice soft and reassuring. "I'll still be here when you're ready."

For a moment, Peter just stared at his mentor, knelt by his side, backlit by a blank white void. Tears sprung to his eyes as he surged forward and hugged Tony.

"I'm so sorry, Tony," he muttered.

Tony chuckled. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You just need to fo live the rest of your life now. Keep making me proud."

Peter burst into sobs, crying into Tony's neck and clutching his t-shirt tight. "I miss you so much," he cried.

"I know, kid. I know."

When Peter opened his eyes again, he was laying on soaking asphalt, staring at the dark sky through the eyes of the Spider-Man mask. He was back, alive and well. There was someone yelling beside him, and there were a few cheers.

"He's alive!" one guy shouted.

"You sound like fucking Frankenstein, Mark," another guy remarked.

"Whatever," the first guy, Mark, grunted. "He's okay!"

Peter sat up on his elbows to look at the two speaking. They were police officers, knelt by his side. Behind them was a blond paramedic.

"You guys the ones who saved me?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Sure are," the first officer said. His friend smacked his arm.

"No, we're not," the second officer amended. "She is." He jabbed his finger over his shoulder in the direction of the paramedic, a young woman packing medical supplies in a bag.

"Thank you!" Peter called out to her, shooting her a thumbs up. "And thank you guys, too," he said to the officers. He pulled his mask back down over his nose and mouth before standing.

"Are you sure you should be fighting crime tonight? You were dead for a few solid minutes there," the second officer said, concern etched on his face.

"Well someone's gotta do your job, right?" Peter laughed, stepping away from the officers.

"Whoa, whoa!" the second officer chuckled.

"Okay, Spider-Man!" The first officer joined in laughing. "No need to be like that, now!"

Peter barked out another laugh before turning away with a shake of his head. "Thanks for looking after me, guys!" he shouted over his shoulder as he shot off a web and started through the air.

Spider-Man may have had crime to fight, but Peter Parker had family to love.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr at staarrk


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